[Wikimedia-l] Your support is wanted: The WMF Board of Trustees is looking for a new Board member

[Dan Rosenthal]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the WMF has used Oppenheim before for senior
level hiring (appointed board members and maybe C-suite level staff? I'm
not sure about that last one, but I'm almost certain I recall the WMF has
used Oppenheim for executive searches before.) My understanding is that the
value in the prospect is simply because Oppenheim simply has a wider reach
and base of contacts than the WMF does. If memory serves, they were the
ones who found Geoff Brigham, and I believe they also found the replacement
for Veronique as CFOO. I'm not really sure why this is suddenly a concern
now, and not before, especially given the quality of success they've had in
the past.

-Dan

Dan Rosenthal


On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 4:21 PM, rupert THURNER <rupert.thurner at gmail.com>wrote:

> my first thought when i read this was "should i use my free time to
> edit wikipedia so that somebody donates money to wmf, and they use it
> to pay oppenheim?"
>
> On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 9:28 PM, Itzik Edri <itzik at infra.co.il> wrote:
> > I don't understand. The board hired and pays to a company to find a board
> > member? Have we tried before via our networks, chapters, and via our
> > advisory board to find such a person (as been done until now?).
> >
> > On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 1:55 AM, Alice Wiegand <awiegand at wikimedia.org
> >wrote:
> >
> >> Hi everyone,
> >>
> >> as you know, we have one vacant appointed seat on the Board of
> Trustees. We
> >> have asked m/Oppenheim Associates to assist us in finding a new board
> >> member and and we are reaching out to the community for suggestions and
> >> nominations.
> >>
> >> The Board functions as a governance body that is ultimately responsible
> for
> >> the Wikimedia Foundation and its activities, supervises the disposition
> and
> >> solicitation of donations, and evaluates the organization’s Executive
> >> Director who leads all Foundation staff. As arguably the most
> influential
> >> and respected organization in the free knowledge movement, the Wikimedia
> >> Foundation and its Board have a great responsibility for setting policy
> >> deliberately and with due consideration for the diverse interests of a
> >> truly global community. To find out more about the responsibilities and
> >> workings of the board you can have a look at the Board
> >> manual<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_board_manual>
> >> .
> >>
> >> As with any search process we will be communicating with a lot of
> potential
> >> candidates to see if we are a good match. The Board’s objective is to
> use
> >> this search to strengthen its competence with regards to board
> governance,
> >> grantmaking, strategy, and expertise with regions where Wikimedia is
> trying
> >> to make rapid strides in the growth of our projects.
> >>
> >> Board terms are for a two year period. Compared to other boards the time
> >> commitment is very significant. The Board of Trustees meets four times a
> >> year, twice in San Francisco and twice in changing locations around the
> >> globe. Meetings take two days and travel can add another two days to
> each
> >> meeting. In addition, the Board communicates frequently by email and
> >> Internet Relay Chat (IRC) as it navigates policy issues. This can absorb
> >> 4-10 hours weekly. Board members also regularly engage with the
> Community
> >> through wiki pages.
> >>
> >> We think that the WMF would benefit from a Board member who has
> experience
> >> with organizations that have grown and evolved rapidly, and who
> understands
> >> how boards can evolve to provide appropriate governance support in these
> >> changing circumstances. Experience with international, community-driven,
> >> consensus organizations is also important as the Foundation would not
> exist
> >> without the community.
> >>
> >> We would like to call upon you to help us out with finding the right
> >> individual. A complete position description can be found
> >> here<
> >>
> http://moppenheim.com/searches/links/Wikimedia%20Foundation%20-%20Board%20Member%20position%20description%20-%20final.pdf
> >> >and
> >> additional information can be found at
> >> www.moppenheim.com and www.wikimediafoundation.org. Your suggestions
> and
> >> nominations are very welcome. Please feel free to reach out to your
> >> networks and distribute this note as you deem appropriate.
> >>
> >> Interested individuals should contact Lisa Grossman
> lisag at moppenheim.com
> >>
> >> --
> >> Alice Wiegand
> >> Board of Trustees
> >> Wikimedia Foundation
> >>
> >> Support Free Knowledge: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate
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> >>
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